Scott fired by Nets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Two trips to the finals, a first-place perch in the Atlantic Division and a recent coach of the month award weren't enough to save Byron Scott's job.

The coach of the New Jersey Nets was fired Monday by team president Rod Thorn, who was unhappy with the team's performance over the first half of the season. The two-time defending Eastern Conference champions are 22-20 after losing five of six games.

Scott was replaced by Lawrence Frank, a 33-year-old assistant whose promotion to the head-coaching job comes with an "interim" label for the rest of this season -- though Thorn made it clear that Frank will keep the job if the team performs well.

"Sometimes change or a different voice is good, and in this case with coach Frank we all feel confident," Nets guard Jason Kidd said.

The coaching change did not come as a surprise to the Nets given the team's recent performance and Scott's lame-duck status. With the team up for sale, management refused to offer Scott an extension last summer after the Nets lost 4-2 to San Antonio in the NBA Finals.

Scott's standing in the locker room was weakened in mid-December when Kidd screamed at him during a heated postgame team meeting following a 47-point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

After that clash, Scott led the Nets to five victories in their next six games, temporarily saving his job and helping him earn coach of the month honors. But the Nets began sliding again this month, the low point coming Friday in an 85-64 loss to Miami -- a defeat that convinced Thorn he needed to make a change.

"I felt it would turn itself around, and for a while it did. But it became evident to me that it wasn't going to turn around," Thorn said. "We have not played to the level we anticipated playing."

Scott holds the franchise record with 149 coaching victories. After a 25-56 record in his first season, the Nets went 52-30 in 2001-02 and 49-33 in 2002-03 before losing in the NBA Finals both seasons.

Scott received the news Monday morning in a meeting with Thorn, who then told the team of the change.

Kidd said he didn't know a change was imminent, although a front-office source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that Kidd spoke with management Saturday about the team's coaching situation.

"I had nothing to do with this," Kidd said. "Coaching changes happen all the time. I'm a player here, I'm an employee."

I have no control over who's the coach or what trades are made."

Thorn said the team's season-long inconsistency and lack of focus convinced him that a new leadership voice was needed in the locker room.

He said the change was not related to the sale of the team for $300 million last Friday to developer Bruce Ratner, who plans to move the franchise to Brooklyn.

Thorn considered other candidates from inside and outside the organization but settled on Frank because of his familiarity with the Nets' complicated offense and his rapport with the players.

"Lawrence is a lot like Jeff Van Gundy, who I think is one of the best coaches in pro basketball," Thorn said.

Indeed, there are similarities between Van Gundy and Frank and the circumstances in which the two little-known assistants were elevated to head coaching positions.

Van Gundy took over the New York Knicks from Don Nelson in 1996 when they were 34-25, coaching his first game in Philadelphia. Frank also takes over a team with a winning record and will coach his first game in Philadelphia.

Frank spent three years as an assistant under Scott in New Jersey after being an assistant to Brian Hill for three seasons with the Vancouver Grizzlies. Hill was hired Monday as an assistant to Frank.

Frank also worked under current Toronto Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill at Tennessee and Marquette. He attended Indiana University, and was the team manager under Bobby Knight from 1988-92.

"The only fair comparison (to Van Gundy) is that we're both follicly challenged," Frank said.

Scott, whose record with the Nets was 149-139, did not return telephone messages.

His agent, Brian McInerney, said Scott was not bitter about being dismissed and knew for several months that his job was in jeopardy.

"He's going down as the winningest coach in Nets history. He reached the finals twice, he coached the All-Star game. His children got to watch him coach Michael Jordan," McInerney said. "He has absolutely no resentment or anger."